Greetings Rockers ’N’ Rollers! Newer venue, Capital City Music Hall, in downtown Harrisburg has been bringing a few National artists lately including Candlebox on March 5 and Sebastian Bach of Skid Row on March 25. Both bands popular in the 90’s brought big crowds to hear their famous hits. CCMH future dates include; Negative Approach (March 30), Pop Evil (April 7), Soulja Boy (April 26), The Stitches (May 16), W.A.S.P. (Oct 14).
Lady Gaga tribute act, Haus of Monsters, visited New Cumberland’s West Shore Theatre on March 6 for a fantastic performance. The band has 10 east coast dates planned for a Spring tour and will visit Central PA later in the year. New Cumberland also held its annual Best St Patricks Day festival on March 14 featuring Slick Willie, Electric Love, Shea Quinn, The Martini Bros and The Swisher Sweets. That night The Super High-Tech Jet Fighters opened for Kilmaine Saints for XL Live’s St Patricks Day concert.
DJ Admatix played an intimate set at Freshido on March 13 spinning his blend of Nu Disco. The Harrisburg-native DJ Admatix is gaining popularity in Central PA having played Level 2, Flinchys, Freshido, Tequila Willies and the Cellar Door in Frederick, Md.
Reggae superstar, Shaggy, played Reverb in Reading, PA on March 15 and played all his hits, “Boombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me” and “Angel.” Shaggy is considered Jamaica’s most notable living artist and was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander.
Swedish garage band, The Hives, returned to the States and are currently in the midst of a 10-date tour with The Chats from Australia. Their tour came to Philadelphia’s Fillmore on March 16 and both bands played amazing sets to a near sell out crowd. The Hives were once dubbed by Spin Magazine as ‘The Best Live Band on the Planet.”
The Sex Pistols (Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock) featuring Frank Carter announced their rescheduled tour dates for this fall. The tour was originally halted in September 2025 after Jones sustained a broken wrist, forcing the cancellation of all dates before a single show was played. With Jones now fully recovered, the band is set to resume plans to celebrate 50 years since the Sex Pistols’ formation. On his return, the guitarist stated, “Mr. Jones here with an update on my wrist, I think it’s good enough to do the upcoming tour, now if I can just stop my legs from buckling up, I think I’ll be in good shape.” Fans can expect a full performance of the band’s landmark 1977 album “Never Mind the Bollocks”, the Sex Pistols dates include: Sept. 25 – Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore and Sept. 29 – Washington, DC, 9:30 Club.
Public Image Limited, also known as PiL, is touring North America for the first time in eight years this fall. The English post-punk band brings their “This Is Not The Last Tour” to Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre on Sept 29, Washington DC 9:30 Club on Oct 1 and Philadelphia’s Union Transfer on Oct 2. PiL last performed in the States in the 2022 edition of Goldenvoice’s Cruel World festival in California.
Jay-Z is returning to a U.S. stage this year. The iconic rapper will join the Roots to headline this year’s Roots Picnic in May at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia the weekend of May 30-31. The hip-hop star, who recently reverted his name to JAŸ-Z in honor of the 30th anniversary of his standout album “Reasonable Doubt”, last performed live in Paris last June when he joined his wife Beyoncé during her “Cowboy Carter Tour” to perform a few songs. Jay-Z also announced a pair of concerts July 10-11 at Yankee Stadium, one to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt” and the other to commemorate 2001’s The Blueprint. Rap icon Lil Wayne has extended his celebration of more than 20 years of his groundbreaking Carter album., with 28 new dates in the U.S. with support from 2 Chainz and The Game on select dates. Lil Wayne visits Camden, NJ on Sept 11, State College, PA on Sept 18 and Reading, PA on Sept 19. Hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan will return to the road this summer for a 26-city North American run of “The Final Chamber” tour. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony will support. Stops include: Aug 28 Atlantic City, NJ – Sep 11 Holmdel, NJ and Sep 15 – Bristow, VA.
For his first live performances since the finale of his record-breaking “Got Back Tour” in 2025, Paul McCartney will rock Los Angeles with an intimate two-night stand at The Fonda Theatre March 27 and 28. This show will be a phone-free experience. Phones will be secured in Yondr pouches, but guests are able to maintain possession of their phones at all times.
Guitar legend Eric Clapton will visit six U.S. cities in September. Kicking off at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena Sept. 6, the tour stops in Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, Minnesota, before wrapping Sept. 17 in Kansas City. Jimmie Vaughan will support. Clapton similarly had a September run of U.S. stops in 2025, which included a 14,078-ticket sellout at Madison Square Garden that grossed $3.44 million.
Dogstar is hitting the road once again with new music out in May. Following their 2023 reunion and release of Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, the LA-based rock band featuring guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose, drummer Robert Mailhouse and bassist Keanu Reeves will visit the Hershey Theatre on Aug 18. Their 4th studio album, “All In Now” is due out on May 29 produced by Nick Launay, who has worked with IDLES, Amyl and the Sniffers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Other dates include: Washington DC on Aug 11 and Philadelphia on Aug 12.
After dipping their toe back into touring with 20 European tours at the end of 2025, Radiohead is reportedly going to tour over the next few years, the band’s guitarist Ed O’Brien stated, “Every year we’re going to do a different continent, and we’re going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less.” While no firm plans were announced, the band’s 20 shows last year in Europe, which wrapped last December, were reportedly the initial salvo in the years-long plan. “That tour was very, very emotional, very profound. We’d look at one another on that stage, like, ‘This is amazing.’ I feel like I’m the luckiest person on the planet, and I’m not just saying that.”
Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Iron Maiden, Luther Vandross and Shakira are some the 2026 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a wide net that includes rap, metal, R&B, hip-hop, Britpop, blues rock and pop. The hall revealed the list of 17 performer nominees, a list that also includes Melissa Etheridge, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition, Sade and the Wu-Tang Clan. Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order return to the nominations after missing induction last year. The list this time also repeats two sets of musical brothers — The Black Crowes and Oasis. The 2026 inductees will be revealed in April. Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Nominees will be voted on by more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Last year, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Soundgarden, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Carol Kaye, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon all were inducted.
Metallica is entering Sphere this October as the band announces their “Life Burns Faster” residency. The fourteen-show run kicks off in October, and is set to continue the band’s “No Repeat Weekend” tradition that they started with their “M72 World Tour,” where no songs were repeated on each Thursday and Saturday throughout the run. “About 12 seconds into the opening night of Sphere with U2 back in ’23, I thought, ‘We have to do this, it’s completely uncharted territory!’” Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement. “This residency gives us another chance to reinvent how we interact with our fans in a live setting. We are beyond excited to share this with the world in six months time, and way fuckin’ psyched to go next level!”
The Wallflowers will mark the 30th anniversary of their breakout album Bringing Down The Horse with a lengthy tour of North America and Europe. The Jakob Dylan-fronted band will play the album front-to-back — the first time that’s happened — and also play Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 1982 album Long After Dark in its entirety. The 79-date tour visits Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA on May 8 and Parx Casino in Bensalem, PA on May 14.
APRIL CONCERTS: The Four Horseman (Metallica tribute) – Harrisburg XL Live April 10. The Martini Bros – Linglestown Dog House April 11. Steel – New Oxford April 11. The After Hours – Stage College Mannys April 17. Steel – Thomasville Racehorse Tavern April 17. The Jellybricks – Mechanicsburg Metropolis April 18. Jeffrey Gaines – State College Theatre April 18. The After Hours – Lancaster Launch Conference April 23. Broncho – Philadelphia Underground Arts April 23. Drug Church / White Reaper – Pittsburgh Spirit Hall April 26.
